"Nursing ICT" methodological approach to analyse patients' needs and expectations

Abstract

Many European healthcare systems face extensive changes as traditional forms of medical treatment cannot be financed anymore. Structures erode and gaps emerge. eHealth is said to be the solution appropriate to the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. But, although a broad variety of promising eHealth applications can be found, a deeper understanding of reasons for success and failure is missing. Based on the fundamental presumption that illness means more than a physical defect, especially in the case of chronic illness this paper argues that developers of eHealth solutions have to understand patients' needs and expectations. Requirements engineering for eHealth solutions thus has to take not only rational arguments into account but has to obey emotional as well as social facts. In this paper, we present a methodological approach to analyse patients' needs and expectations using psychological and sociological theories. Interviews with patients are used to illustrate the theoretical findings.